Promoting anti-racist and black perspectives in social work education and practice teaching

At a time when institutional commitments to anti-racism within social work are seemingly declining, this article sets out to argue for the retention of a vibrant and overt anti-racist project underpinned by ‘black perspectives’. The main aim of the paper is to help social work educators to develop anti-racist and black perspectives within their roles as tutors, trainers and practice teachers. There is a detailed examination of the complexities surrounding the teaching of anti-racism and ways of fostering a positive learning environment, both in relation to group / classroom contexts and practice placements. A strong case is made for a model of learning about oppression which, in challenging the growing hegemony of ‘competence’ based approaches, aims to nurture students' critical thinking faculties, and which elevates the centrality of knowledge in this process.